


Chaos Theory

by cinnamon_skull



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Body Modification, Dirty Talk, Drinking, Eventual Smut, M/M, Mystery, Nipple Piercings, Non-Binary Hange Zoë, Recreational Drug Use, Sexual Tension, Slow Build, Tattoo! Levi, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-23
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2018-03-02 23:05:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2829287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinnamon_skull/pseuds/cinnamon_skull
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, the most insignificant moment can change the course of a person’s entire existence.  When renowned tattoo artist Erwin Smith agrees to take on Eren Jaeger as an apprentice, he believes that all the pieces of his life are finally falling into place.  That is until he meets unpredictable Levi Ackerman, who just so happens to work at the same tattoo shop.  Angst, romance and—you guessed it—chaos to ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fiction

“Why do we even need to meet with Levi?” whined Jean, leaning over the table to prop his head in his arms. 

“He’s been an important part of these meetings since the beginning, you know that Jean,” reprimanded Erwin from the doorway. He was dressed in a dark flannel button-down with the sleeves pushed back, exposing the Japanese tattoos circling his forearms, and scribbling something into the small moleskin he often carried around the shop. 

“He just says the same thing every time anyway,” Jean whined, and then lowered his voice to mimic Levi, “Control, control, control.” Eren thought he did sound quite a bit like Levi.

They were sitting on two, dark wooden stools in a backroom at Colossal, their portfolios sprawled out on the metallic surface of a high-top table. Erwin had crossed the room and was now seated across from them, leaning back against the dark green leather bench that stretched the entire back wall. 

In his past month at Colossal, Eren had grown to appreciate the eccentric décor and the warm, earthy tones of Erwin’s renowned tattoo shop. Now, it felt like his second home. Some of the walls were painted a bright, vibrant green, while others were adorned with grey wooden panels stained with age, which gave the shop an otherworldly look. Old photographs, artwork and animal skulls with thick horns decorated the walls, and weathered lamps with exposed light bulbs hung from the ceiling. 

Eren and Jean both had apprenticeships at Colossal, probably having beat out hundreds of other applicants vying for a spot on Erwin’s elite team. With almost 25 years of experience, Erwin was an influential force recognized and respected by other artists all over the world. He specialized in tradition Japanese style, and Eren had been a fan Erwin’s work since he gotten his first tattoo at sixteen.

Eren thought about the first time he’d been to Colossal. It had felt oddly familiar, and he remembered thinking he hadn’t really been awake before crossing the threshold. Always after, he felt the strange pull of this place weighing heavy on his heart. 

“Control is important,” responded Erwin. “Levi is a very talented artist, and you should take what he says seriously.” 

“Seriously?” Jean echoed. “This morning he told me he’d rather stick a lit cigarette up his ass than ever let me tattoo at this shop.” Erwin’s mouth quirked, which caused Jean to grit his teeth and tap his pen furiously against the tabletop in annoyance. 

“Whatever,” Jean mumbled under his breath. 

“Eren,” said Erwin, ignoring Jean and turning in the other boy’s direction. “Go tell Levi we’re waiting for him.”

“Me?” Erwin only raised an eyebrow and folded his arms in response. “Fine,” Eren exhaled sharply. “Where is he?”

“He’s probably out back smoking,” Erwin shrugged, turning to direct his attention back to Jean. “Jean, where did we leave off last time?”

Their voices faded as Eren slowly made his way through the shop, dragging his feet. 

When Eren pushed open the back door, the first thing he realized was that it was absolutely freezing. He almost turned back to grab his jacket, regretting his hasty decision this morning to throw on a faded band t-shirt instead of a sweater. The sky was hazy and filled with threatening grey clouds that blocked the sun’s rays, and it looked like it wanted to snow again. 

The second thing Eren realized was that the back of the shop was empty. Eren heard a crow caw loudly from somewhere above his head and the dead branches of the nearby trees whispered in a slight wind, but nothing else. 

Rubbing his hands up and down his arms to stay warm, Eren cursed under his breath. Where the fuck had Levi gone? He thought about turning back and telling Erwin that Levi had left for the day, but Levi was nothing if not irritatingly disciplined. There was no way he had left without telling anyone. Ever. 

Eren had only been at Colossal for a short while, but Levi had left a frightening impression. He carried himself with a calculating coldness, a careful detachment that left Eren avoiding him at all costs. He was rude, vicious even, and wanted nothing to do with Erwin’s apprentices. As he had proved on multiple occasions, he wasn’t shy about making his feelings known. 

Erwin didn’t seem bothered by Levi’s response of “Are you out of your fucking mind?” when he’d asked him to be a mentor in the apprenticeship, only smiling to himself and winking at Eren and Jean, as if Levi were a harmless house cat and not a dangerous predator. 

Levi either looked angry or bored (and Eren couldn’t decide yet which was worse) except when he was tattooing—then, he just looked…free. It was one of the weirder mysteries of Colossal that Levi was a rather popular artist, with a group of fans and clientele almost as large as Erwin’s. Eren wasn’t very familiar with his work and hadn’t really been interested in learning more after their few, brief encounters around the shop. 

During their first weekly meeting with Erwin, Eren had been surprised to see that Levi was already sitting at the table. He sat silently with his arms folded across his chest, looking bored. Erwin had beamed at him throughout the entire meeting, which only made Levi scowl more deeply. He didn’t offer advice willing, only providing cryptic, brief pieces of advice when Erwin dragged him into the conversation. 

A week later, Levi had left for some trade show across the country, and the Colossal had been amazingly quiet and calm without his presence for nearly two weeks. Since he’d returned, Eren hadn’t been alone with Levi once, and running out to find him to tell him was late to a meeting he clearly didn’t consider important enough to attend in the first place made him feel annoyed and anxious. 

Eren looked around, weighing his options. Directly in front of him was the gravel parking lot, roped off with low hanging, rusting chains connected to dark, wooden stumps. Behind the parking lot stretched an expanse of tall, golden grass tipped with frost, and beyond that wild thicket, all grey brown and twisting like knotted spines in the dead of winter. The undergrowth gave way to the edge of rather thick forest—a strange rarity in their proximity to the city. Eren could make out a row of black, twisting limbs from several fallen trees and the large, looming presence of giant pines. 

To the right of the tattoo shop and across the street stood a red brick structure that served as some sort of municipal building for the city. Eren often caught men and women dressed in dark suits, clutching thermals of coffee and talking loudly in cell phones, entering and leaving at all times of day. An old-looking fire escape clung to the side of the building closest to Eren, weaving its way through large windows, the kind that Eren would have loved to throw rocks at in his youth.

To the left of the tattoo shop and set farther back, so that Eren could see the entrance, stood a small spa. It was the ritzy kind that looked like it was filled with warm wooden floors and marble waterfall sculptures. But, Eren knew that it had closed down, and he remembered seeing the going out of business signs, followed by the for sale signs crowding the property. 

A conversation from this morning floated to the front of his mind, something that Hanji had said about Erwin, after they asked him to file a stack of papers. He’d thought he’d seen a copy of a property deed or something on top, and remembered them mentioning that Erwin had plans to expand Colossal in the next few years. 

Eren found himself walking in that direction, the gravel crunching loudly at his feet. He really couldn’t fully explain what had drawn him to it, perhaps a combination of it being too cold out for him to stand still and his curiosity too insistent for his own good. Rubbing at the bare skin of his arms, Eren sighed, his warm breath clouding in the cold. He vaguely wondered what Jean and Erwin were up to without him, while he was running this impossible, stupid errand looking for Levi. If he was being honest, he was jealous that Jean was spending time alone with Erwin.

Jean was a decent artist, would probably be a great one with a little more discipline and practice. He was rough around the edges and a gigantic pain in the ass, but his passion came through in his style as an artist. He specialized in dots and lines, creating intricate work inspired by geometric patterns, and after seeing his portfolio, Eren knew that Jean could very well work at Colossal one day. 

He paused at the front entrance of the abandoned spa, ignoring the NO TRESSPASSING signs taped to the glass. He put his hands against the cold surface, blocking the glare and leaning his forehead forward so that he could peak inside. 

Though the lighting was dim, Eren could see a large reception desk that lay behind a set of double glass doors, made of mahogany wooden panels and topped with black marble. Eren had no idea what Levi would be doing in such a place and almost turned away to go check the front of the shop when a sound caught his attention.

Leaning closer and pressing an ear to the door, Eren paused to listen. Yes, he’d been right! Though Eren couldn’t make out any words, he was certain that a low thrum of music was pulsing from deeper inside the spa. It made him nervous—even if he did manage to find Levi, he had no idea what he planned to say. On his good days, Levi was threatening and unapproachable and on his bad days—well, Eren didn’t want to even think of that. But, he didn’t want to disappoint Erwin. 

Taking a deep breath, he wiggled the handle, already deciding that if it were locked he’d turn back and tell Erwin that he couldn’t find Levi. Of course, the door opened in one swift movement. Eren pushed through the second set of glass doors, which made no sound, and the music instantly became louder, echoing off the empty walls. 

Eren passed rows of empty, mirrored stations—all tan with expensive black leather chairs—which gave way to a long hallway. The ceiling was a faded brown and the white, mosaic-styled wall led to various rooms, where Eren assumed the spa had hosted private massages. He followed the music, his sneakers quiet against the grey tiled floor.

Near the end of the hallway stood the entrance to another room, this one much larger than the others. Levi was there, sitting at the bottom of an empty in-ground swimming pool. It wasn’t very large, and looked more like a condensed lap pool, but the blue and green tiles set against warm stone slabs evoked a powerful richness. For a moment, Eren could image what the room had looked like before it closed, all warm lighting and soft blues reflecting off a crystalline surface.

Now the room was dull, the expensive stone brick walls ashen and washed out in the naked lighting that hung from the ceiling. It looked eerie and cold, and there was something strange creeping into his consciousness like a warning. 

At the center of the pool was Levi, stretched out on a simple chaise lounge chair with his legs crossed at the ankles. His head was tilted back, his eyes closed, and there was a cigarette hanging from his lips. At his feet stood a small, black portable speaker exuding mellow beats. Maybe it was Levi, looking vulnerable and striking against the blue green hues of the pool, that was making him feel so unsettled. 

“What are you doing here?” Levi asked suddenly, his voice rising up and echoing slightly. It made him sound softer and different, like a stranger. He switched off the music, and it was very, very quiet. 

“Erwin’s looking for you,” Eren replied after a moment of stunned silence. “You’re…uh....” he paused, gathering his courage. He promised himself he wouldn’t let Levi intimidate him. “Late for our meeting.” 

At this, Levi’s eyes flashed open to study Eren’s face. “And you’re trespassing.” He tilted his head back to take another long drag from his cigarette, but he didn’t take his eyes off of Eren. 

Despite his vulnerable position, Levi looked entirely in control, ready to command an army with a wave of his hand. Eren’s eyes traced the way the wiry muscles of his left arm shifted under his skin when he raised the cigarette to his lips. Both of his arms were completely covered with tattoos, but Eren hadn’t been alone with him long enough to know the details of his ink. 

When Levi’s fingers brush against the soft pink of his lips, the same uneasiness from earlier returned. Fuck it, Eren thought, he’d delivered his message. It wasn’t his job to make Levi do anything, if that were even possible, so he turned quickly and started to retreat back toward the entrance of the building. Before he could even take a few steps, he heard Levi call out, his voice like the sound of a cocking gun.

“Get down here.”

The hairs on the back of Eren’s neck rose, but he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and turned to face Levi. He was relived to see that the other man was no longer staring at him. 

“We’ll have your meeting now,” he said, a new cigarette bouncing between his lips while his hand tapped against his pockets in search of his lighter. Eren thought he heard Levi mutter something like “fucking Erwin” and “fucking meetings” under his breath.

Levi’s slender fingers pulled out a metallic grey lighter from his pocket, snapping back the lid and igniting the flame with an easy flick of his wrist. 

The sound echoed loudly in Eren’s ears. “What about Jean?” 

“Who?” Levi paused to look over the glowing flame, which set his features alight with a strange ferocity. _Predator _, Eren thought.__

“Jean,” Eren repeated. At Levi’s blank look, he sighed. “About this tall with blond hair?”

Recognition flashed across the other man’s face. “Let Erwin deal with that little shit,” he sneered and beckoned Eren forward with a wave of his hand.

Reluctantly, Eren climbed down the metal latter that lead into the pool, jumping down and landing on his feet much harder than he’d expected. When he turned, he noticed that the tiled floor sloped down in front of Levi, so that he was perched overlooking a small precipice. The air was thicker down there, almost humid, but Levi looked perfectly at ease. 

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that smoking kills?” Eren asked, sliding to the ground and leaning his back against the pool wall. The hot air was making him feel sticky and annoyed. 

Up close, Eren could see that Levi was wearing a green sleeveless tee featuring the white outline of a rabbit skull, which was adorned with odd, flat teeth and twisting ears. There was something written across the bottom that he couldn’t make out. The dark green color should have made him look sallow, but if anything it gave his pale skin a striking luminosity. 

“Huh,” Levi said, taking another long drag. “No shit.” 

The shaved side of his head was angled toward Eren, so that he could see the black edges of a tattoo creeping up the skin behind his ear. The hair was just starting to grow, reminding Eren of the soft, downy coat of a newborn animal. 

When Levi bent his head to stub out his cigarette on the floor, his eyelashes looked very long and black against the sharp, pale angles of his cheekbones. After a long moment, he gave Eren a sideways look. “How’d you find me here?” 

“Just a guess,” Eren answered, pulling his knees closer to his body. 

It was very quiet, the gentle creak of the lounge chair as Levi shifted the only sound in the room. He’d never really spent time with Levi like this before, alone, away from the others.

“So…” Eren started, reaching a hand up to scratch the back of his neck, but stopped when Levi glared at him. “Well—um. Meeting?”

“Your mastery of the English language is impressive,” responded Levi with a smirk, tilting his head to regard Eren with hooded eyes. 

Eren felt his face flush with embarrassment. “Well you said we were having a meeting.”

“Yeah,” agreed Levi, unhelpfully. When he crossed his arms behind his head, Eren found himself thinking about what it would feel like to ink Levi’s skin, to leave his mark there. What the hell? Where did that come from? That line of thinking wasn’t going to get him anywhere, except in the grave if Levi ever found out. 

Levi seemed content to stare, probably trying to see how uncomfortable he could make Eren before he pissed himself. 

“Erwin owns this space,” Eren said after a while, when it became clear Levi had no intention of starting their “meeting.”

“Erwin owns a lot of things,” Levi drawled. “This place is one of them.” He tilted his head toward Eren. “But you already knew that.”

Eren ignored Levi’s comment, remembering how large the space had been when he walked through it earlier. It would be a nice size, probably one of the larger tattoo shops he’d seen, but Erwin certainly had that kind of demand.

“So I guess he has plans to expand the shop one day, right?” 

“Nothing gets by you,” Levi deadpanned. “Any other brilliant observations?” 

Just that you’re a miserable bastard, he thought. 

“Why do you come out here?” Eren asked instead, trying to catch Levi off guard. “To think?”

“To be alone,” Levi said, looking at Eren with strange eyes.

He suddenly kicked his feet to the side of the lounge chair, sitting up swiftly with feline grace. He felt around the cushion for his lighter, muttering under his breath. 

“Well, great meeting, kid,” Levi said over his shoulder, as he reached to climb up the metal latter. “Real riveting stuff.” 

He paused as he pulled himself over the top, and it irked Eren at how easy he made it look. “I’ve got a client coming in fifteen minutes.”

Before Levi disappeared, he stopped to look back down at Eren. “Don’t tell anyone about this place,” he said, his voice low. Eren felt the unspoken words of Levi’s threat hang between them.

_Tell them what? ___Eren thought. “Okay,” he said instead, when Levi didn’t turn away. Before Levi turned his back, Eren saw the words that had been printed on his shirt.

_Every living creature on Earth dies alone. ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love titanhair! Eren <3 It’s very important to me that you this. Also I imagine Levi with a more punk rock haircut – more like this with tattoos: http://stymestash.tumblr.com/post/95253451929
> 
> Phew! Now that that’s out of the way, this is my first fanfic EVER!! A weekend spent binge watching Jurassic Park (and an unhealthy love for all things dinosaur, but that’s for another time ;)), an unyielding admiration for tattoos, and an extreme love for Eren/Levi sparked the creation of this fic.
> 
> Also in case you were wondering, the song playing when Eren sees Levi at the spa – I image it to be Fiction by The XX – I love this song, which I think is sexy and mysterious, perfect for their one-on-one meeting ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxYN8-HvL44
> 
> Also Levi’s shirt was inspired by Frank the Rabbit and Donnie Darko – if you haven’t, please watch – it’s one of my favorites ☺
> 
> Hope you all enjoy! Up next – Eren’s backstory, a little more about everyone’s different tattoo styles and one very, very important scene!


	2. Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi wears an American Psycho t-shirt, Jean and Marco exchange some heated looks, and Eren gets more confused.

“Don’t sound so miserable,” Hanji sang from across the room. They were supervising Eren, Jean and Marco, who were on cleaning duty for the morning.

At least once a week, all three were tasked with making sure the artists’ stations at Colossal were fully stocked and clean. An extra cleaning, Eren thought, because everyone who worked with Erwin took cleanliness and client safety extremely seriously. 

It was rather early in the morning, before Colossal typically started taking clients, which gave the three men ample time to work.

“Ugh, stop screaming,” groaned Jean. His head was buried in his arms, resting against one of the leather chairs he was supposed to be cleaning, and Eren could see a row of dark piercings lining one ear. He was wearing a green flannel button up with grey skinny jeans.

“You shouldn’t have gone out drinking so late last night,” Marco chided from over his shoulder, and then pointed a spray bottle of cleaning solution at Jean’s face. 

His movement drew Eren’s attention to the various text tattoos spreading over the tan skin of his arms at different angles, mixed with various symbols. His sleeves reminded Eren of an old textbook, filled with faded diagrams and scrawling passages, deconstructed and rearranged in a beautiful, chaotic work of art. Eren knew lines from Dante were in there somewhere. 

Jean raised his head just enough to aim one tawny eye at Marco, his eyebrow arched. They stared intensely at each other for a few moments before Jean looked away, swearing under his breath. He pushed off the chair and turned back to cleaning, his hands moving lazily over the surface of the cabinet in front of him. 

Pleased, Marco turned back to organizing a drawer of piercing equipment at his station. 

“Ugh, get a room!” Eren muttered. Really, this wasn’t the first time they had eye fucked each other in front of him. He wondered if they were fucking in real life—but then again, Marco was way out of Jean’s league. 

Marco’s dark brown hair was tucked into a grey beanie, and he was wearing a plain white v-neck t-shirt paired with ripped skinny jeans that did amazing things to his ass. 

Eren smirked when Jean whipped his head around to glare in his direction. Maybe because of his hangover or maybe because he didn’t want to draw any additional attention to Eren’s statement, Jean didn’t have a witty response. 

Marco was a bit of jack-of-all-trades at Colossal. He worked the front, usually handled walk-ins, and did a fair amount of the piercings at the shop. Out of all the artists, Marco was the youngest and had the least experience, having apprenticed at Colossal for the past two years. 

He was only a few years older than Eren, and he was one of the kindest people he’d ever met. During his first week, Marco had given him a lot of great advice. Even Levi seemed to turn down from ‘icy serial killer’ to ‘almost normal’ whenever he interacted with Marco. 

Speaking of Levi…. 

After their run-in at the spa, the rest of Eren’s week had passed — thankfully — with no additional interaction with Levi. Sometimes he thought he could feel the older man’s eyes on his back when they were in the same room, but whenever he turned to check, Levi was never looking. 

Levi mostly kept to his space, a decent sized room nestled in the back of the shop. Eren had been surprised to learn that both Erwin and Levi had private spaces, while the others had open stations lining both walls of the main room. It made sense, Eren supposed—after all, both Erwin and Levi booked much longer sessions than the others. 

And yet, even with Levi’s typical distance, he couldn’t help think about their strange encounter in the _underground _, as Eren had started to call Levi’s secret hideout at the abandoned spa.__

__His odd request had made Eren think all sorts of things, about Levi’s relationship with Erwin and the others, and why he wanted Eren to keep his secret. Part of him wondered if it was some sort of test. He couldn’t imagine the others not knowing where Levi snuck off to all the time. As far as Eren knew, Levi had been part of the shop for more than a decade._ _

__“Do me a favor and grab a few bottles of disinfectant from the back, okay?” Hanji asked, interrupting his thoughts._ _

__“Sure,” Eren answered quickly, setting down the cleaner and towel he’d been using to wipe down Mike’s station._ _

__At the moment, there were three other artists besides Levi, Erwin, and Marco working at Colossal. Hanji specialized in typography tattoos and Mike did stunning, realistic designs and portraits. All the others were thrilled to have someone to teach, warming up to Eren after not much time at all, while Levi remained frustratingly indifferent._ _

__Eren set off in the direction of the storage closet at the back of the shop, next to the room where Erwin usually hosted their weekly meetings. As he passed, he noticed that the door to Levi’s private room was ajar. It was usually closed whenever Levi was out—like today—but Eren could see light streaming through the opening._ _

__And then, Eren did a terrible, very stupid thing. He pushed the door to Levi’s room open slowly, glancing over his shoulder once to make sure Hanji and the others weren’t watching him. Something was drawing him in like a magnet, and he was powerless to stop despite his better judgment._ _

__Hanging in thin frames and adorning all four walls of Levi’s room were photographs of his work. Levi’s artwork was—breathtaking. Although Eren knew from talking with the others that Levi specialized in watercolor tattoos, he’d never gotten a chance to see his work up close._ _

__It was truly amazing, the way he was able to manipulate the ink, so that he looked like he’d painted on his tattoos with a brush instead of a needle. His coloring was vivid, striking, and the softness of the designs seemed so at war with Levi’s hard, icy personality. How could he create something so delicate and vulnerable, so beautiful?_ _

__Most of his work consisted of abstract pieces, but he did have some more realistic watercolors of flowers and animals. Some were lovely and messy, the ink effortlessly mimicking the runny painting style of the medium. His work was mesmerizing, and the intense brightness of his coloring shocked Eren._ _

__One of the photos at the center of the wall caught his eye, and he moved forward to get a better look. It was an abstract wolf, painted in black with splashes of color, flowing lines and splatters of paint. The tattoo looked like it belonged to a woman, the wolf resting between the delicate curves of her shoulder blades. The flow and curve of the snout and ears drew attention to its haunting eyes. Leaning closer, Eren noticed that they were a smoldering green._ _

__“What are you doing?” said a voice from behind Eren’s shoulder. _Oh no _, he thought. _Levi _._____ _

______“I was just looking,” Eren said. He could hear his own heartbeat thumping loudly in his ears, feeling caught and trapped with no reasonable explanation for how he’d ended up in Levi’s room._ _ _ _ _ _

______Somehow he found the strength to turn and face Levi, but that was a mistake. His hair looked slightly damp, and the midnight black strands were glistening against Levi’s ivory skin. He was leaning against the doorframe, studying Eren carefully._ _ _ _ _ _

______“At this design?” Levi pointed to the one that had caught Eren’s eye._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Yes.” He wondered just how long Levi had been watching him._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Oh, right,” Levi said suddenly, turning to face Eren and running his fingers through his hair, pushing the damp strands away from his face. “Because you recognize it.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“What?” Eren asked, worried that this was another kind of test. Now that Levi had moved closer into the room, Eren could see he was wearing a white _American Psycho _t-shirt underneath his leather jacket.___ _ _ _ _ _

________Eren gulped, hoping that Levi wasn’t close enough to notice._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Levi’s piercing eyes were still studying his face with an unreadable expression, and Eren wanted desperately to turn away to escape the intensity of it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________When the silence became almost unbearable, Levi shook his head. “Nothing,” he said. “I just thought maybe you’d seen it before. Maybe my portfolio or online.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“No I haven’t,” Eren said, flushing at having to admit he wasn’t that familiar with his work. Levi remained silent, crossing his arms over his chest._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“It’s beautiful, though,” Eren admitted, before he could stop himself._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He thought he saw something flicker in the depth of Levi’s metallic eyes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Eren?” Hanji called out then, their voice muffled and coming from somewhere in the direction of the main room._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Coming,” Eren called back, turning quickly away from Levi, but feeling those eyes on his back the entire way._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________******* /// *******_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“What’s wrong?” asked Marco, upon Eren’s return to the front of the shop._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“What?” Eren responded, bending to pull a jar of cleanser into Mike’s cabinet._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Marco gestured at Eren, frowning. “You’re face…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“What’s wrong with my face?” He asked innocently, trying to play dumb and hoping Marco hadn’t notice how flustered Levi had made him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“What a stupid question, Jaeger,” Jean jumped in. “Everything, obviously. First of all, you’ve got this fuck—hey!” he gasped, spluttering as Marco elbowed him in the ribs._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“What Jean means to say,” he said, giving the tall blonde a look, “Is that you look… upset.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“It’s nothing.” Eren forced a smile. “I’m fine.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Marco regarded him carefully. “Was it Levi?” At Eren’s surprised look, Marco explained. “He just stomped through here fifteen minutes ago raving about Erwin making him come in on his day off. Figured he caught you on your way back from the supply closet.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Eren stared at Marco. What could he say, really? “Come on Eren,” Marco prompted. “Did he say something to you?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Yes and no,” Eren paused, trying to organize his thoughts and process all the strange interactions he’d had with the older man lately. “I went into his room—”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Are you fucking suicidal?” hissed Jean, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m surprised Levi didn’t skin you alive and pull out your teeth to wear as a necklace.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Ew!” Marco scrunched up his nose, drawing attention the smattering of freckles there. Eren saw Jean blush out of the corner of his eye._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Well that’s just it. I thought he’d be angry,” Eren shrugged helplessly. “But he wasn’t. Or maybe he was, I don’t even know.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“You don’t know,” repeated Jean, slowly, like he was talking to a small child. “Jaeger, you were in his private space without his permission. He was probably fucking furious.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I don’t think so,” Eren sighed. Jean was right. Levi should have been furious, should have terminated his apprenticeship on the spot. Eren had heard stories of Levi firing others for less._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Well he must have said something, right?” Marco prompted. “Tell us what happened.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“He just asked me about one of his pieces,” Eren said, hoping Marco wouldn’t ask him for more details. “Like I said, it was strange.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“That’s all?” Eren hesitated for a moment, his encounter with Levi in the underground flashing through his mind._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Yeah,” he lied. “That’s all.” He thought of Levi’s threat again: _don’t tell anyone _. But, that wasn’t it. Not all of it, anyway. He couldn’t explain it, but he wasn’t ready to share that story with anyone just yet.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You must have nine lives,” Jean whistled. Marco’s forehead was creased and there was an odd look on his face, but he remained silent._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Can we stop fucking talking about Levi now?” Eren pulled a new set of paper towels out of a draw. “We have shit to clean.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Marco and Jean exchanged looks, but Eren ignored them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________******* /// *******_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The moon was hanging low in the dark sky, causing the playground below Eren’s apartment complex to shine eerily in the darkness, illuminating the deserted steel slide and merry-go-round. It was late enough in the night that the streets below were empty and silent, and the light dusting of snow on the ground glowed faintly underneath such a full moon._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Even though it was the dead of winter, Eren was currently perched on an old rusting lawn chair, some forgotten relic from warmer days that another tenant had lugged up several flights and then abandoned. When Eren had just moved in, the roof had been one of the first places he’d explored, and the twisting metal bars had reminded him of the decaying bones of some ancient creature._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________But he liked it on the roof, liked the noise and the silence and the feeling of freedom it brought him. So he’d bent back the bars, purchased a cheap outdoor cushion from a local shopping center and the rest was history. The other thing about the roof was that he was alone, and he liked that even better._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The lawn chair whined when Eren leaned back. His fingers itched to capture the unworldly glow the moonlight cast over everything, but he hadn’t brought his sketchbook with him this time. Instead, he curled his hands behind his head, so that he could stare up at the stars flicking through the grey clouds._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Closing his eyes, Eren replayed the events of the day in his mind. Today had been…long and strange. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d seen Levi’s tattoo somewhere, and it had bothered him for the rest of the day._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He was also feeling tired and lonely and sad. Tomorrow would mark the anniversary of his mother’s passing. He would spend the majority of the next day with Mikasa, reminiscing over their favorite childhood memories with their mom._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________It had been two years since her passing, but the startling, stomach-dropping realization that she wasn’t there still hit Eren. Usually, it was when he was just waking up in the morning, when his mind was still foggy and clinging to dreams of her smiling face. In moments of happiness or good times, he’d catch himself reaching for his phone to call her, only to realize she would never answer. Not ever again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________In the past two years, he had so many things he wanted to share with her. He’d finished his last year of art school at Trost University, fell in love, travelled across the country, and gotten his heart broken. His mother had been like a beacon throughout his life, guiding him through the tumultuous waves of his teenage years and giving him hope in only the way a mother’s love could. She had been the warmest light._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He knew he would spend the evening with both his sister and his father, who would look somber and more than a little lost sitting across from him at the dinner table. On most days, his father fought to hide his sadness, to throw himself into his work as a surgeon and bury the pain that lurked so close to the surface. But even his father wasn’t strong enough to bury it deep enough._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Eren thought back to last year, when they had gathered on the couch to flip through old photo albums, their father between them, stopping to point out funny face or share a story._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“There’s that smile,” his father had murmured, running his fingertip over a picture of Eren. He was dressed in green pajamas that had a pattern of cuddly dinosaurs. He was smiling at the camera, his hands exposed palms up to reveal dark navy and bright red paint. His mother was staring down at him like she’d never seen anything so amazing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________It was a tradition they had created, to spend the day together as a family to honor their mother’s memory. Last year, when his father’s voice had become thick with emotion, Eren had reached out to hold his hand and Mikasa had weaved her fingers through his other, leaning her face against his shoulder. They had sat like that for a long time._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The sounds of dogs barking interrupted Eren’s thoughts, and he glanced down to check the time on his phone. It read 2 a.m. in white letters._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Sighing, Eren stretched out his cramped arms, and rubbed warmth into his fingertips._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I promise mom,” he whispered. “I promise.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that inspired this chapter: Grimes “Go”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIi57zhDl78
> 
> Oh, Dante. Anyway, hope you all had fun with this chapter. I love Jean/Marco <3\. 
> 
> So many mysteries to unravel! But I hope you all enjoyed learning a bit more about the characters and different tattoos/styles. I know you’re dying to learn more about Eren’s style and his tattoos – trust me, all will be revealed soon.
> 
> Next chapter – more interaction between Levi/Eren. Yay! : ) Warm fuzzies and constructive criticisms are more than welcome. xo


	3. Begging for Thread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erwin has something up his sleeve and Eren learns something new about himself. 
> 
> Song that inspired this chapter: BANKS “Begging for Thread”  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twix375Me4Q

“Eren,” Mikasa said, pausing to blow gently on the mug of coffee resting between her hands. “Are you happy?” 

Eren could tell she was trying hard to keep her voice casual. Her eyes moved to rest on a pile of mail cluttered in a corner of the table.

The noise of her coffee cup clinking on the table was very loud in Eren’s ears, and he felt his stomach clench.

“Happy?” Eren repeated. “Are you?” 

At his question, Mikasa ducked her head sharply and withdrew more deeply behind the red scarf wrapped loosely around her throat, her lips tightening into a thin line. 

She looked tired, Eren thought, staring at the sharp lines of her shoulders. But then her head snapped up and her stormy eyes were alight with a familiar fierceness.

“Yes…I am, actually.” She looked like she might say something more, but then her lips curled into a warm smile. 

When Eren didn’t say anything, Mikasa reached across the kitchen table between them to wrap her fingers around his hand tightly. “I want you to be happy.”

Happy. 

Eren stared at their intertwined hands, hesitating for only a moment before responding with a hard squeeze. 

“How’s it going at Colossal?” Mikasa asked. “Is it like you imagined?”

Like what he imagined? No, not even close, he thought. 

“Well, yes,” Eren paused, long enough for Mikasa to give him a sharp look, before continuing. “You should see some of the work those artists do, Mikasa, it’s incredible.”

At Mikasa’s smile, he added, “I bet if you did, you’d rethink getting a tattoo of your own.” 

“I know how hard you’ve worked to get there,” Mikasa said, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles lightly. 

Eren kept his eyes carefully trained on her fingers, wondering at how pale and fragile she looked against his darker skin. 

“Mom would be really proud.” She whispered, so quietly Eren almost hadn’t heard her add.

Mikasa gave his hand one last squeeze. 

“Oh shit, I’m going to be late,” she said, when she caught the time on her watch. There was a flurry of movement as she stood up, gathered their dirty dishes and piled them in the sink before grabbing her keys from counter. 

Mikasa was an assistant director at a popular art gallery downtown. She’d agreed to eat breakfast with Eren at his apartment before work. 

Eren pushed away from the table, so that they could walk together toward the front of the house. 

“Thanks for having breakfast with me,” she said. “Let’s get dinner later this week, okay?”

Not having to be at Colossal until noon, Eren spend the better part of the morning roaming around his apartment, feeling restless and anxious. 

To distract himself, he took to cleaning the kitchen, the chore he most loathed. He wore a ratty, grey sleeveless hoodie and black sweatpants that had been accidently bleached on laundry day a few weeks ago.

Something about the smell of bleach and the mindless motions of wiping away grime eased his nerves and stopped his mind from wandering into weird, crazy places. He even cleaned out the fridge, grimacing at a few unidentifiable containers crammed at the very back.

He’d been living in his new apartment for nearly three months now, but it was already starting to feel like home. 

As a belated graduation gift, his father had taken him to visit a number of apartment complexes, reasoning that it would do Eren good to have his own space. After touring a few, Eren had fallen in love with this space, which was nestled just outside the city. Eren’s father had taken him by surprise with his generous offer to put down the deposit and pay rent for the first three months while Eren figured things out. 

When he had objected, saying that it was too much, his father had put his foot down.

“Who else am I going to spend my money on?” he’d said. “I’m proud of you and what you’ve been able to accomplish.” When Eren had started to protest again, he put a gentle hand on his son’s shoulder. 

“You’re mother would be proud too,” he said quietly and then smiled. “Besides, you know how much she loved to spoil you.” 

So that had been that, and Mikasa and Armin had helped him move in a week later. He might not have been able to afford the place, being unemployed with an art degree, but working part-time at his dad’s office since high school had helped him save quite a bit of money. 

 

******* /// *******

 

“Eren, did you hear what I said?”

Startled out of his thoughts, he looked over at Erwin. “Sorry,” he said, feeling a blush beginning to bloom on his face. “What did you say?”

Erwin gave him a look, but decided not to comment on his lack of attention. “I said, sometimes you’ll get clients who ask about various numbing creams. We have some on hand, but in my opinion they don’t really work.”

“Right.” Eren shook his head. “Because they can cause complications and only work on the first layer of skin. Dok taught me the same thing.”

Erwin smiled at that. “Ah, good old Dok. Well anyway, we do have a few bottles stocked in the back in case a client insists, but that’s mostly for placebo effect.”

After Eren had finished two years of art school, honing his skills in various mediums from charcoal to watercolor and building up his portfolio, he’d undergone an intensive apprenticeship with a nearby, respected tattoo parlor. For the past two years, he’d worked under the guidance of Nile Dok. 

Dok, as he insisted Eren call him, was an interesting artist and a patient mentor, even if he did have an odd sense of humor. He walked Eren through everything from sterilization to application, and even provided sound advice on how to successfully run a business.

His mentor specialized in hyper-realistic tattoos, but he was extremely knowledgeable on the history of tattooing, and he allowed Eren the freedom to pursue his own interests and artistic style. Eren not only respected him, but he admired his talent. 

Under Dok’s watchful eye, Eren had given his first tattoo to Dok’s girlfriend, who had insisted on volunteering once she’d seen his portfolio. Once he’d gotten over his initial nerves, the gentle hum of the needle was like the rhythm of his own heartbeat, he never wanted it to stop. 

He was completely taken with the art, loved the evolution of tattoo creation from sketchpad to skin. Even more, he yearned for the connection tattooing gave him, and found that people liked to open up to him. 

So many were willing and ready to rip open old wounds or share their dreams, fears, desires. He enjoyed being privy to those moments; it was like peeking through a keyhole on the door to another person’s soul. And Eren would translate what he saw into a piece of art that would live on, burned into the skin of stranger he might never see again. 

It was thrilling and terrifying and uniquely satisfying, and Eren wouldn’t dream of doing anything else. 

After two years with Dok, he had noticed a subtle change in Eren. In their early days together, Dok had learned—and accepted—pretty quickly that Eren radiated an earnest passion to master each new challenge. 

Nothing discouraged him, gave him pause or uprooted his eagerness, and there was no talking him out of anything. Though they hadn’t seen eye to eye on everything, Dok had a deep admiration for Eren’s dedication to the craft, and he’d admitted on more than one occasion that his stubbornness rivaled his own. 

But Dok could see Eren’s restlessness and the way he’d turn his eyes to the horizon, dreaming of something no one else could see. Something was calling to him, he’d told Eren, and Dok knew he wouldn’t find it at his shop. With his blessing, Eren had returned home to pursue the next logical step—to work at Colossal. 

Eren bent down to pull out a row of disposable ink caps for Erwin’s next session. “What do you have next?”

Erwin turned his wrist so he could read the time on his watch. “Uh, I’ve got a girl coming in for a shoulder piece in half an hour. Why don’t you go take a break and then see if Hanji needs help?”

At Eren’s confused glance, Erwin added, “She’s a shy one. I don’ think she’s going to want you in here shadowing.”

“Okay,” Eren said. He could see the sharp undercut of darker blonde hair above the smooth skin of his nape and lower, the intricate peaks of a dragon tattoo that Eren knew rested beneath Erwin’s shirt. 

“Hey Erwin?”

“Hmm,” he said, rifling through a nearby drawer. “What is it?”

“Well I was just wondering when I’d be able to start, you know,” Eren gestured with his hands, even though Erwin wasn’t looking at him. “Working.”

Erwin stopped and turned to give Eren a thoughtful look. “Well, I know you’ve had experience tattooing with Dok. But at Colossal we like to take our time to make sure you’re doing your best work.”

That didn’t really sound like an answer to Eren, but he nodded his head anyway. 

Erwin must have seen his look, because he laughed and reached out to put a hand on Eren’s shoulder. “Don’t worry Eren, you’re doing fine. Although…” Here he trailed off, the deep, sharp darkness of his blue eyes zeroing in on Eren’s face. 

The stare left Eren feeling bare and nervous. “What?” 

Was he doing something wrong? Was Erwin unhappy with his work? 

“Never mind.” Erwin turned back to what he’d been working on. “I’ll see you during our meeting.” 

With an easy wave of his hand, he’d dismissed Eren.

 

******* /// *******

 

Later, after what felt like an agonizingly long time, Eren pushed open the door to the backroom. Marco and Jean were sitting on the same side of the table, their heads bent together. They were sitting so close that their arms were touching. 

Jean was speaking lowly and Marco had his eyes trained on the tabletop, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. Cute, Eren thought.

When he was settled at the other end of the table, he noticed Erwin and Levi standing just outside the room. He was struck by the odd image the two of them made; one light and one dark, framed by the brighter light filtering in from the main room. Erwin was standing very close to Levi, leaning down slightly. Levi stood straight with his arms crossed, his face carved out of utter indifference.

But this wasn’t the same, there seemed to be a strange tranquility, a softness, that shown through Levi’s normally harsh features. Something about that look made Eren’s heart ache with a sudden wanting, and for the first time, he could see the man behind his tattoos, wild and tender. 

He was witnessing something he was only just beginning to understand, but he knew one thing to be true. Erwin alone seemed capable of bringing it out in Levi. 

For a moment, Eren thought Levi’s attention had shifted to him, his grey eyes lowered, so that Eren could no longer see his expression. Erwin leaned in closer to rest his hand against Levi’s shoulder, a friendly gesture most likely, but it was strange to see someone else touching Levi, like a child brushing their fingers against the fur of a wild animal. 

The two broke apart, Levi nodding his head and waving a hand, and then he turned, shutting the door behind him. 

Erwin had moved closer to the table, asking Jean about something, the words fuzzy. He tried to regain his earlier excitement, but he couldn’t feel anything at the moment beyond an overwhelming exhaustion. 

His mind kept sliding back to that look on Levi’s face. 

 

******* /// *******

 

It was dark when Eren began gathering his things. As he made his way toward the back door, he waved goodbye to Hanji, who’d he caught in mid-yawn, their black glasses pushed up and tangled in their auburn hair.

“Night, Bambi,” they said around another yawn. Hanji had taken to calling him that in almost the same moment they’d met him. “Careful on the roads.”

“Will do.” Eren felt around in his pocket for his keys, double-checking he hadn’t left them in the back. “Have a good one, Hanji!”

Hanji groaned, which he interpreted as a reflection on what she was working on rather than his farewell. Eren zipped his hoodie up and pulled a black beanie out of his pocket. 

When he pushed open the door, a freezing wind hit his face. He was still adjusting his hat, pulling back the part that had slipped over his eyes, when his shoulder knocked against something.

Jerking his head to the side, he realized that he’d run into Levi, who was leaning against the brick, dressed in the same black biker tank he’d been wearing earlier. The white deer skull printed over his chest glowed beneath the dim streetlights lining the parking lot.

His arms were bare, and the pale skin beneath his tattoos shone with the same luminosity Eren had first noticed in the underground, like he was staring at a black and white photograph of Levi instead of the real thing. 

“Aren’t you cold?” He couldn’t help demand, burying his hands, which had started to sting, into the pockets of his sweater. 

Levi raised his eyes to give Eren a long, considering look. “Not exactly,” he said, as he twisted the heel of his boot to crush a cigarette butt into the gravel.

The same weariness that had plagued Eren earlier in the day returned in full force. Of course Levi would respond with something so cryptic. The world was cruel, after all.

Deciding there wasn’t anything more to be said, Eren grunted and continued on. 

“Oi, brat,” Levi called out, and when Eren turned, he noticed Levi’s breath left behind wispy white clouds. “We need to talk.” 

He said the words with such finality that Eren shivered. Recalling Erwin’s earlier hesitation, dread began to pool low in his stomach. 

Silence stretched between them, the only sound the sharp hiss and clicks as Levi flipped the lid of his Zippo open and closed.

“How did you get into tattooing?” He asked suddenly. 

“My mom.” The question was so unexpected that Eren answered honestly. He wished he could take the words back the minute they left his lips. 

Levi must have seen something in his face, because he pressed on, eyes narrowed. “Is she an artist?”

“Not a tattoo artist,” he said cautiously, feeling his gut twist. “Is this really what you wanted to talk about?” 

Levi ignored him, of course, leaning forward with interest. “Does she have tattoos?” 

“No.” He pulled at the fraying fabric of his sweater, trying to keep his anger in check. Levi didn’t know what he was asking, not really. 

“Does she like yours?” 

“I don’t know.” He dug his nails into the skin of his palms. “Why do you care?”

“I don’t,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. 

A cold, venomous rage was beginning to spread through Eren’s veins. “Well, you never seemed interested in my personal life before,” he said. “We’re not friends.”

“No, we’re not.” Levi’s voice was low, powerful. He took a step away from the wall, and began slowly walking toward Eren. 

“Okay?” Eren grit his teeth. “What do you need to tell me? This doesn’t have anything to do with my apprenticeship.”

“You don’t think so?” Levi’s voice was cool and amused. His grey eyes reminded Eren of shining mirrors with no reflection. 

“What does that mean?” 

“Erwin thinks so,” Levi said, ignoring him. He was standing close enough so that Eren could see a pale, half-moon shaped scar curling high on his cheek, near his temple.

“Erwin?” Eren repeated. A sudden vicious thought bloomed in his mind. “He’s in charge of my time here, not you. So, I don’t need to sit here and listen to you talk in riddles while you get off on intimidating me and any other talented artist new to the shop.” 

Levi hadn’t moved an inch. “You’re wrong,” he said, barring his teeth in a cold smile. “Erwin put me in charge.”

A jolt of shock left Eren breathless. “Erwin wouldn’t do that.” But the look on Levi’s face made his stomach sink. 

“That so?” Levi shrugged. “Ask him yourself.” 

“I’m supposed to believe that Erwin put you in charge of the newbies?” 

“Oh, no.” Levi laughed darkly, and Eren could feel his breath ghosting lightly on his face. “Just you.”

“What?” Eren started, reeling from Levi’s words. 

“That’s right.” Levi didn’t look away, just kept studying Eren’s face with that same, intense gaze. “You work for me now.”

Silence wrapped around them again, heavy and final. He could smell Levi, heady with smoke but mixed with the sharp scent of citrus. 

“Understand?” Levi asked, not moving away. 

Eren swallowed, and he saw Levi’s eyes dip down to track the movement of his throat. "Yes," he said. No, he thought. 

“Good,” Levi snapped, instantly moving away. “Now get the fuck out of here, you’re pissing me off.”

Eren felt like his limbs were frozen in place. 

“Go,” Levi said with a nasty glare. Eren held his gaze for a moment longer, and then turned to find his car, cursing under his breath. 

As he walked through the parking lot, he thought back to when he’d seen Levi and Erwin together. If Erwin brought out a certain gentleness in Levi, Eren seemed to incite the opposite. He seemed to be the one person at Colossal able to make Levi lose his self-control.

An idea began to kindle in Eren’s mind, slow and terrible. He knew he wanted to be the one to watch Levi come apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the love! ☺ 
> 
> This is a short chapter - I'll try to make the next one a bit longer. I think I'm done setting everything up here, so the plot should be moving full speed ahead. I don't know if you can tell but I'm more interested in character development than plot - so yeah, this is about Eren working at a tattoo shop, but it's also about two people who end up getting under each others' skin and the changes they make or don't make after meeting. 
> 
> Writing this as I go people, so let me know your thoughts!


	4. Do I Wanna Know?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is inspired by Arctic Monkeys “Do I Wanna Know?”  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpOSxM0rNPM
> 
> Eren gets some hands on experience with Levi, and then gets high with Jean. ;)

The next day, Eren felt a frantic energy settled over him as he pushed open the front door to Colossal. His interaction with Levi still weighed heavy on his mind, and the fact that he had no idea what Erwin was thinking made him feel uneasy. 

When the slight bell chimed, signaling his entrance, he took a moment to gauge his surroundings. In the center of the otherwise empty room stood Erwin, leaning over Marco’s shoulder and pointing at something on the computer screen. 

He was dressed as impeccable as ever, his shirt an aggressive, spotless white that Eren wouldn’t dare wear to a tattoo parlor, paired with dark wash jeans. The ends of his hair were damp and curling slightly at the nape of his neck, making the hard lines of his face appear softer, almost boyish. At the sound of the bell, he glanced up at Eren.

The blues of his eyes, deep and dark and haunting like an endless ocean, studied Eren carefully. He said something in a low tone to Marco, and then pushed away from the desk to stand in front of Eren, blocking his path to the back.

“He told you.” Erwin said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes,” Eren said, and he couldn’t fight the accusation from coloring his voice. Erwin looked calm and just a little thoughtful, but the same, jovial charm he typically exuded lingered just beneath the surface. 

“I need you to trust me, Eren.” His voice was quiet and confident. He reached up to rest a hand on Eren’s shoulder. “Know that I have your best interests at heart.” 

“My best interests?” Eren felt a dull numbness pressing beneath his skin, making his lips and limbs feel heavy. 

“Eren—” 

“Why didn’t you tell me first?” He realized now, what he’d been feeling, twisting up his insides. When he’d first walked into Colossal all those months ago, he very much felt at home. Now, he was frightened by all the questions he couldn’t answer, the puzzle pieces of Erwin and Levi, endlessly shifting and changing so that he couldn’t pin them down, no matter how badly he wanted to. 

At this very minute, he was afraid of why he was standing there, in the middle of the room with the dark floorboards silent beneath his feet, staring at Erwin. And he felt so very, very alone.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Levi said suddenly, not sounding sorry at all. He was leaning against the door to his room, watching Eren. A thin silver chain gleamed at the bare hollow of his throat. “But we’ve got shit to do.” 

He waited until he had the rooms’ attention and then smiled like a knife. “Right, Eren?” Then he disappeared into his room, not pausing to check if Eren had heard or followed. 

“Listen to what I said,” Erwin insisted, eyes resting on Eren, before he retreated back to the desk. “Trust me.” 

Marco gave Eren a helpless look and shrugged his shoulders, mouthing the word “later” before turning his attention back to Erwin.

Trust.

Something thin and brittle felt like it was close to snapping inside Eren’s chest as he made his way to Levi’s room, feeling Erwin’s eyes on him the entire way. After what felt like an eternity, he breached the archway to Levi’s room, drawing in a sudden, sharp breath.

Levi was pulling his shirt over his head, his body twisted and facing away from Eren, so that he could see the taunt skin on his back ripple underneath his impressive ink. When he bent slightly to fold his shirt, Eren could see the slight indents of his ribs and the cut of his wiry muscles. 

Either he hadn’t noticed or didn’t care that Eren stood frozen in the doorway, heat spreading up the back of his neck. 

Eren was still staring when Levi turned, lifting one leg to straddle the leather tattoo chair in the center of the room. He smirked and raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment on Eren’s flushed appearance.

“Today,” Levi said, leaning forward on his forearms. “You’re going to be tattooing me.”

“What?” Eren said in surprise, hating the way his voice cracked.

“One of your designs.” Levi was studying his hands casually. “I want that key you drew in your portfolio.” He said it so normal, as if Eren had inked him a dozen times in the past 

“My portfolio?” Eren echoed, feeling a new kind of heat spreading up his neck as he moved farther into the room. 

“Yes, the key.” Levi drawled, turning his gaze to Eren’s face, his grey eyes flashing like lightning. 

“You want the key—my key?” 

“Stop asking stupid questions,” snapped Levi. “You heard what I said.” 

A faint little shudder ran through him. The air in the room seemed to be thickening, even though it was bright and early and in the dead of winter. 

“I want it here.” Levi pointed to the back of his neck, though Eren couldn’t see the exact spot from where he was standing. “I want to see what you can do.”

His heart beat a little erratically in his chest. “Are you sure you want this?” It came out like a whisper. 

Levi’s gaze intensified, and Eren swallowed the rest of his words. He knew Levi was trying to unnerve him, test him and make something perfectly clear. That he wasn’t like anyone else at Colossal, and Eren was playing by his rules now. 

“I don’t need to see what you’re doing,” he said after a moment. “I can feel it in the movement of your needle against my skin.”

“Levi,” Erwin called from the door, leveling Levi with a warning look. 

“What?” Levi responded without looking, completely unaffected by Erwin’s tone. 

“Levi,” Erwin said again, his voice a warning. This time, Levi did turn his head, his eyes seeking Erwin’s over the leather chair. 

Eren heard Levi sigh and watched him slowly untangle himself from the chair, rising to his feet with feline grace. “What is it, Erwin?” He heard Levi ask, and then Erwin was pulling him further back into the hallway, away from the door and Eren.

Eren took the sudden emptiness in the room as a chance to pull his portfolio from his bag, flipping through the pages until he landed on the key that Levi wanted. It was a rather simple design, a black outline of a skeleton key with curling filigree, but one of his favorites. 

It reminded him a lot of his mother, who he’d travelled with to many different places when he was a child. She was a talented photographer, drawn to nature and the outdoors, though she’d gone through a period of time when she’d been obsessed with photographing different doors—some opened, some closed, some hovering on the edge. Some were bright and welcoming while others were dark and crumbling, but she’d always say the same thing:  
“Something about being suspended, you know that moment before you decide to move on or rush through—I’ve always been interested in capturing that.”

“You mean obsessed,” Eren had joked, earning himself a light tap from his mom. But her words had stuck with him and come through in his own artwork. This key was one of many that he’d drawn, over and over. 

He was running his fingertips over the key when heard Levi return, and when he turned he saw a deep scowl on his face. He opened his mouth to say something but Levi cut him off. “Get a move on kid, I don’t have all fucking day.”

He returned to his position on the chair, though his body was tense and Eren was sure it was something to do with whatever Erwin had said. He knew better than to ask.

As he moved through the preparations, a familiar calmness settled over his movements and his mind. If he didn’t know anything else—not his place at Colossal, not where he stood with Levi—he knew that tattooing was something that he loved. 

After pulling on a pair of black gloves and setting supplies on the small table next to Levi, he wheeled his chair closer to get a better look at the back of Levi’s neck. He sterilized the area, gently rubbing his fingers over the skin there, noticing how Levi’s muscles jumped under his touch, but that he didn’t shiver under the cold cleanser. 

Levi reminded him of a wild animal, beautiful to look at and dangerous, but there weren’t any barriers between them at the moment. He knew in his gut that it wasn’t smart to be so close, and yet he felt the pull of Levi like a current, alluring and strong. 

He shaved the area quickly and then pulled his stencil from the thin black machine resting on the counter. 

After setting it on Levi’s skin, he pulled a hand mirror from a drawer and handed it to Levi. “What do you think?”

Levi stood and moved to the full-length mirror in the back of the room, angling the mirror in his hands so he could see where the tattoo lay on the back of his neck, dipping slightly to top of his spine. Eren watched as Levi moved his neck back and forth, watched the sharp points of his spine twist like the coiling of a snake, ready to strike.

“Not bad.” His steely gaze met Eren’s in the reflection of the mirror. 

For a long time, the hum of the needle was the only sound in the room as Eren got to work laying his outline, and then moving back to add details and shading. The back of the neck was a sensitive area, but Levi held perfectly still.

When it was over, he was tossing his gloves into the disposal and Levi was twisting in the mirror again. 

“Not bad at all, kid.” This time, Eren thought he saw a glimmer of respect there. 

 

 

 

******* /// *******

 

 

 

The bar a few blocks down the street from Colossal was crowded but comfortable, and the three of them—Jean, Marco and Eren—managed to grab a table in the back after ordering a pitcher of beers from the bartender.

They fucked around and blew off steam, caught up and talked about their plans for the weekend. The conversation eventually turned toward Colossal and what they were working on, funny client stories and bizarre interactions with Hanji. 

“Tell me about Levi,” Eren asked suddenly, disturbing the quiet conversation Jean had been having with Marco. 

“What about him, Eren?” Marco looked a bit startled, but Eren could already see Jean smirking behind the rim of his glass. 

Eren pushed his beer back and forth on the table, between his hands. “You’ve been at the shop for more than two years, you’ve got to know something about him.”

“I’ve probably told you everything already,” Marco sighed. “There really isn’t much to tell.”

“Aww, Marco, come on!” Jean nudged him in the ribs. “Look at Jaeger’s face. He’ll be sulking around tomorrow like a kicked puppy if you don’t tell him something.”

“I will not!” Eren felt his face grow warm. “And I don’t fucking sulk.”

“Just look at him pouting!” Jean said, ignoring him. “I’m not dealing with that face and Patrick Bateman tomorrow, so please, for the love of god, tell him something.”

“Did you just refer to Levi as Patrick Bateman?” Marco asked, turning to face Jean.  
There was a pause as the two of them stared at each other silently, having another one of their weird eye conversations. 

“I heard him tell Erwin that he ‘had to return some videotapes’ yesterday.” Jean mimicked Levi’s voice. “And this afternoon, when Hanji accidently spilt his tea, he very casually responded with ‘I want to play around in your blood.’”

“That’s not funny, Jean,” Eren muttered, taking a drink of his beer. “Levi isn’t that bad. You don’t even know him that well.” 

“And you do?” Maybe if Eren had been paying closer attention or if he hadn’t been finishing up his third beer, he would have noticed the amusement in Jean’s voice. 

“I know him better than you,” he snapped, but as soon as he said it, he realized his mistake. 

Instead of being angry, Jean gave Marco a sideways look, and then both of them broke out into identical smirks. It looked a little out of place on Marco’s face, but the lopsided quirk of his lips made one of his dimples deepen. 

Jean was a lucky motherfucker.

“Oh no,” Eren waved his hands helplessly, trying to neutralize the situation. “That didn’t come out right! I just meant—”

“Oh don’t worry, we know exactly what you meant.” Jean raised his eyebrows suggestively. “Seems like Levi’s been giving you some hands-on experience.” 

Eren felt his face flame from the back of his neck to his ears, thinking back to Levi’s lean frame and the way his skin felt beneath his hands. “It’s not like that.” 

“You like him!” Marco beamed, his eyes twinkling behind his tortoiseshell glasses. 

“You’ve got some really fucking weird taste in men, Jaeger.” Jean whistled, and bumped his shoulder playfully against Marco. 

Eren tried to regain control of the situation. “I could say the same to Marco.”

“Hey!” Jean yelled, slamming his hands on the table and leaning forward. Their glasses and silverware jumped against the table. 

Marco burst into laughter. “Okay, you two, knock it off.” Eren noticed him place a calming hand on Jean’s arm, moving it down to brush lightly over the skin of his wrist. Jean looked like he wanted to continue, but Marco’s touch took the fight right out him.

“Ah, I think I’ve got a story you haven’t heard,” Marco said suddenly, scratching his chin and dissolving the tension. “Do you know anything about how Levi came to work for Erwin?”

Eren shook his head. A few weeks back he’d stayed up late and ended up scourging the internet for stories on Levi, but he couldn’t find anything beyond a brief, unhelpful bio on Colossal’s website, which was paired with a photo. 

From his computer screen, Levi glared out at him, dressed in his usual sleeveless shirt, his back to the bright windows at the front of the shop, and Eren could just make out the blurred, backwards letters of “Colossal” hanging over his head. The light cast his features in a noticeable softness, and his skin glowed warmly underneath the black ink of his tattoos. 

He looked a bit younger, yes, but his face held the same bored look that Eren was used to seeing, his cool grey eyes sharp and blank, but simmering like thunderous clouds before a storm. The corners of his lips were pulled down into a frown, and the razor edges of his cheekbones and jaw made him look like a brooding artist. 

“What are you hiding?” he’d actually asked aloud, and later blamed it on being nearly 3 a.m. Eren found his mind drifting back to that photo more than once that night before sleep claimed him. 

“Well, I don’t know the whole story, just that Levi used to hang with a bad crowd.” Marco paused. “I’m pretty sure he’s been arrested before.”

At Eren’s questioning look, Marco shook his head. “I don’t know the details or what he did. But I do know that he tried to break into Colossal.”

“When was this?” Eren felt his gut twist. Thinking Levi was dangerous and knowing were two very different things.

Marco shrugged and gave Eren a considering look. “Dunno, maybe ten years ago now. He’s been here for almost that long, so it had to happen back then.”

“No way,” Jean said, tapping his fingers against the tabletop. “And Erwin just gave him a job at the shop, after all that? Just like that?”

Marco shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know about all that—I mean I assume they worked out some kind of deal because Levi was never charged.”

“How do you even know any of this is true?” Jean was giving Marco a disbelieving look. 

“I went out with Hanji awhile back, and they had a little too much.” Marco smiled. “They love talking about Levi when they get drunk, it’s funny and terrifying at the same time.”

“What did Levi do? What was he trying to steal?” 

“He threw a brick into a back window and climbed through. Then, he tried to steal all the tattooing equipment—you know how expensive that stuff is, I guess he figured he could sell it on the black market.”

“How did he get caught?”

“Erwin was working late that night, so he was still there when Levi tried to rob him.” Marco rubbed the back of his neck and frowned. “Hanji mentioned that things got pretty physical. You know that scar on Levi’s face?”

“Yeah,” Eren said, a little breathless, hardly believing what Marco had said. 

“He got that from their fight, apparently they were both rolling around in broken glass.”

He could image Erwin back then, tall and muscular, almost twice the size of Levi. On any day he was a formidable opponent, capable of leveling someone with a simple, sharp look of his eyes. He guessed they both had that in common, though where Erwin was bulky and built like a mountain, Levi was thin, all wiry muscle and attitude, exuding a feral viciousness that must have even given Erwin pause.

Even now, he could still see that violence in Levi, vibrating just below his skin and gathering at the edges of his cold smiles. He hadn’t really known the extent of that violence before, not really. He still didn’t. 

“I can’t believe this,” Eren said, not daring to voice his previous train of thought. “They look so…well, normal, I guess.”

“How they became friends, I couldn’t say,” Marco said, taking a sip of his beer. “But you know Levi doesn’t answer to anyone, not even Erwin.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call them normal,” Jean quipped. “None of us are.”

“Too true,” Marco replied quickly, smiling at Jean. 

 

 

 

******* /// *******

 

 

 

Later, Jean and Eren were huddled in the alley behind the bar. Eren reached into his pocket to pull out a plastic bag occupied with two joints. Marco, the designated driver for the night, was still inside, tracking down a waitress to order some food. 

After pulling one of the joints out of the bag and resting it between his lips, Eren fished around in his jeans for his lighter and brought it to his mouth. Once lit, he took a long drag, savoring the feeling. 

After exhaling, he passed it along to Jean. “So are you fucking Marco or what?”

Jean gave him a smug look over the joint. “We’re fucking, yeah.” He took a hit and held before exhaling a cloud of smoke. “But it’s a little more serious than that.”

Eren raised an eyebrow as Jean passed it back to him. “Oh?”

“Yea, we’re dating.” Jean turned his gaze back to the bar, as if picturing Marco through the bricks. “Exclusively.”

The news didn’t really come as a surprise to Eren, as he’d been watching them—unwillingly—eyefuck since his first day at Colossal. But it was another thing to listen to Jean talk about it so casually, so confidently. 

He saw all the ways they were together, lingering looks and light touches. Even then, in front of him at the bar, he saw the way the lines of their bodies seemed to unconsciously flow together, like tall, yellow grass stirred by the same invisible wind in an open field. 

“Woah, dude,” Eren said, feeling his lips quirk up into a grin. And it wasn’t just the effects of the THC hitting his system. He generally felt happy for Jean and Marco. “That’s awesome.”

Jean threw his head back and laughed. “You sound like such a stoner right now.”

“I’m not stoned,” Eren smiled. “But I am high as fuck right now—your dude Connie hooked me up with some good shit.” Eren twisted the joint in his hand, flicking the ashes.

“I told you he was good for it.” Jean took the joint from Eren’s fingers. “You should hang with us next time—bring Mikasa and Armin.”

“Yeah,” Eren responded, passing the joint back to Jean.

“So…” Jean gave him a sideways look. “What’s going on with you and Levi?”

“I already told you, nothing,”

“Don’t get so defensive,” Jean gave his arm a playful shove. “I’m asking as your friend. So come on, tell me the truth. Does the old man have game?”

“First of all he’s not an old man.” For some reason, Eren felt an unyielding need to make this point abundantly clear. 

“Did you suck his dick?” Jean asked slyly, blowing smoke out the corner of his mouth. 

“What the fuck, Jean!” Eren choked. 

“What? Don’t tell me Erwin’s hitting that.” 

“Huh?” Coldness began to spread through Eren, despite the warm haziness of his high. “What do you mean?” 

“Erwin and Levi? I don’t know that story Marco told us got me thinking.” Jean tossed the roach to the ground, crunching it under the heel of his boot. “Maybe they’re fucking or something, and that’s how Levi got to stay when he tried to rob the place?”

Eren was pretty sure he was doing a good impression of a fish. “I don’t know.” He felt a little sick at the shock of it. 

Levi had always seemed to him like a feral thing, unknowable and wild. He’d never even considered that they could be together. 

“Are you okay?” Jean was giving him a strange look, the light catching the gold of his eyes. 

“Yeah, I’m just hungry as fuck.” Eren rubbed his hands together just to do something. “Let’s go back inside.”

Jean nodded, but Eren was hardly aware of him or anything else. His mind flashed back to one of his first conversations with Levi. 

“Erwin owns a lot of things,” Levi had said in the underground. Was Levi one of those things?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The positivity and response has been SO overwhelming and amazing – thank you, thank you, thank you!
> 
> Pushed myself to make this a longer, more dynamic chapter. Let me know what you all think. I promise this isn’t Levi/Erwin – but Eren doesn’t know that yet. Not that I have anything against that ship - I actually really love and respect Erwin as a character. It's just not what I had in mind for this fic :D
> 
> Also – may or may not have a Jean/Marco one-shot/companion piece up my sleeve. We’ll see!
> 
> I want to hear what you guys think, so leave comments and kudos <3


	5. Juicebox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter inspired by The Stroke’s “Juicebox”  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc9S9qfL7Ts
> 
> Levi gets a little rough, the crew goes out drinking for some “team bonding” and Eren makes a BIG (and sexy) mistake. ;)

Eren watched Levi lean over and peer down at the dark lines etched into his client’s shoulders. The sound of the needle had quieted to a dull buzz as Levi inspected the piece, running a towel against the skin to clear away a fresh wave of blood.

For the past several hours, Eren had been tasked with silently observing Levi work on an intricate back piece. From the first moment Levi had touched needled to skin, Eren had been absolutely riveted. Seeing his finished work hanging around them was nothing compared to watching Levi’s process—he was able to create such fluid, graceful lines, as easily as if he were dragging a paintbrush across canvass.

As Levi bent his head, Eren could see the faint blue hue to his eyelids, the way his lashes fluttered, delicate and dark, against his pale skin. When he looked up suddenly, their gazes clashing, Eren felt a sharp warmth spread through his chest.

They stared at each other, eyes locked in a silent battle of wills. Levi was an intimidating sight for sure, but Eren’s determination to get his way had always bordered on madness. He felt something like triumph when Levi looked away first.

“Okay, Kenny, I think that’s it for today,” Levi said, turning his attention to his client. “You know the drill—after I wrap it, don’t take it off or get it wet for twenty-four hours, unless you want to walk around with a fucking shit stain on your back for the rest of your life.”

Over the past two weeks, Eren’s strange attraction to Levi had—frighteningly—only increased. Levi remained as aloof as ever, his actions and words framed by a cold and refined malice that should have deterred his obsession long ago. And yet, the bright, fleeting sparks that Eren would catch illuminating the darkness of his eyes when he worked, where he thought no light could live, kept him ensnared. He could feel a subtle shift in their relationship, like quicksand rippling beneath grains of sand.

Even now, Eren could see the harsh set of Levi’s shoulders and the tense line of his mouth as he bandaged Kenny’s back, but it didn’t leave him feeling even remotely cold. Quite the contrary—his skin felt hot and his blood warmed at his thoughts.

Levi was a thorough, if curt, mentor, intimidating but not cruel—not yet. If anything, his straightforward style seemed to oddly quiet the restlessness that Eren always felt when he worked with Erwin. Levi didn’t hold back in a way that was both refreshing and agonizing, and Eren liked to think that he’d earned whatever respect Levi was willing to give to another human in the short span of time between them.

When Kenny was gone, Eren watched Levi cross the small room, his face turned away so that he could admire the tattoos looping up the backs of his arms and peaking out from the sides of his sleeveless shirt. He liked the way he could see Levi’s muscles ripple and his skin tighten around the bones of his ribs when he bent down to toss away paper towels and scraps from their earlier session.

"You're different," Eren said, his skin pricking as tension settled between his shoulders.

Levi had been in the middle of pulling off his black gloves, and his movements slowed at the words, but he didn’t look over his shoulder at Eren.

"Different,” he said slowly, like he was saying the word for the first time. “What are you talking about?” Eren thought he heard a slight edge to his voice. A warning.

"I’m not sure," Eren hesitated, suddenly feeling like he was playing a game, one in which he didn’t know the rules. “Still bossy,” he started, but when he saw Levi’s shoulders tense at the word, he added quickly, “but more…friendly?”

He hadn’t meant to phrase it as a question. He wanted to say that Levi was acting more human, alive and present in a way Eren hadn’t seen before. Friendly seemed juvenile and petty.

Eren doubted Levi even had friends—no, Levi had people he fucked, people he considered family, and then everyone else drawn to his cold and deadly beauty.

“Is that right?” responded Levi, moving across the room to the cabinet where he stored his cleaning supplies, and Eren could see the profile of his face when he walked past. His lips were twisted into a scowl, but he didn’t say anything else.

Eren felt a surge of bitterness rise at the back of his tongue at Levi’s indifference, and he wiped the leather chair in front of him roughly. In the silence he could hear Levi rustling in the drawers behind him, packing away the last of his work before he left for the night. He was probably going home to see that stupid—

Suddenly, Eren felt warmth press up against his back, and he froze when Levi’s hand tangled loosely in the hair by his neck. Not gently — it felt more like a threat.

Eren shivered, and Levi pushed him forward over the chair until his entire chest was pressed up against Eren’s back. He could feel his warm breath ghosting over the exposed skin of his neck.

In that moment, he wanted very much to see Levi’s expression, to see if the blacks of his pupils had drowned out the pale grey like he’d imagined so many times. Maybe he’d see anger there. Or maybe, he’d see something else.

“What do you want, Eren?" Levi asked, his voice low. His lips had moved to hover over his ear when said his name, and Eren felt his skin burning up from the heat of it. “You want me to be mean?”

Eren wasn’t sure if he’d made a low noise in his throat, but suddenly Levi and the warmth of his body were gone.

“And Eren,” he heard Levi call from his position near the door. Eren slowly turned his gaze in the direction of his voice, and he was greeted by the terrible blankness of Levi’s face.

“Clean this shit up before you leave.”

 

 

******* /// *******

 

 

“Okay kiddies,” said Hanji, clapping their hands together. “You have an important meeting to attend tonight.”

Eren and Jean had been lingering in the main room, packing up the last of the day’s work before heading out. The memory of Levi’s warmth hovering over his skin was still fresh in his mind, making his pulse pound.

“What meeting?” demanded Jean, who up until that moment had been busy playing some trivia game on his phone instead of helping Eren clean. “It’s Friday night, Hanji, doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Hanji asked, resting their hands on their hips. Their auburn hair was escaping from their ponytail in long waves, reminding Eren of flames.

“It means that some of us have real fucking lives and already made plans!” Jean gave Hanji a murderous look that would have made Levi proud. He was wearing a faded white Henley with his hair pulled back into one of his signature beanies—this time, a deep shade of forest green.

“Well, unmake them,” responded Hanji without sympathy. “This is important.”

“What’s so important that we need to meet about it on a FRIDAY NIGHT?” He looked toward Eren for help, stomping his vans against the floor for emphasis. Eren thought he was being dramatic, as usual.

“Team bonding!” Hanji announced, like that explained everything.

Jean gave Hanji a quizzical look. “Meaning?”

“Well, you know it’s when a group of people who work together improve their relationships or performance as a team by addressing different interpersonal scenarios and problems that affect team functioning. It’s funny that you should ask, because there’s actually a science—”

“I know what team bonding means!” Jean interrupted, waving his hands. “I meant, what do we have to do?”

“Pound back beers until you can’t feel your face,” Mike translated from his station in the corner.

“So we’re all going out to the bar to get shitfaced?” The corner of Jean’s mouth quirked up, his face shining with a glimmer of hope.

“Isn’t team bonding great?” asked Hanji. Jean broke out into a slow smile and flung an arm around Hanji’s neck, brining them close and pressing his knuckles to the top of their head playfully.

Hanji was laughing and playing along until they tensed and pulled away to glare at something moving over Jean’s shoulder. “Hey! Where do you think you’re going?”

Eren and Jean both turned to see Levi, his back to the room and his hand paused over the doorknob. The hood of the black sweatshirt he wore underneath his leather jacket was pulled up over his head, but Eren could pick out Levi’s lean frame from a crowd of thousands. The knowledge was unsettling and exciting.

“Home,” he responded, not turning around.

“Oh no you’re not.” Hanji gave him an intimidating look, even though they knew he wasn’t looking. “Team bonding tonight. Mandatory.”

Levi scoffed. “Since when is watching you aggressively twerk against random strangers while you spill your drink over everyone in a five mile radius mandatory?”

“Flattery will get you no where,” sang Hanji, waving their pointer finger in Levi’s direction. “You’re coming out with us. All of us.”

Eren saw Levi lower his hand in defeat. When he turned to face Hanji and Mike, who had moved to stand next to them, his eyes flashed to Eren and Jean. “Are those two shits even old enough to drink?”

“Legal and ready to mingle,” Hanji answered for them, wiggling their eyebrows. Eren felt Levi’s gaze on his face but refused to meet his eyes. “Now stop pretending that you don’t want to go.”

Levi crossed his arms over his chest. “Does Erwin even know about this?”

“Of course he does,” responded Hanji confidently. “Who do you think is paying the bill?”

 

 

******* /// *******

 

 

A few hours later and everyone seemed to be taking Hanji’s version of “team bonding” very seriously. Everyone—even Levi—had walked to a nearby bar, not far from Colossal, and Erwin and Marco had met them shortly after. It was dim and crowded, with music pumping through a sound system, but Eren liked the atmosphere and the local craft beers they had on tap.

True to Hanji’s word, Erwin made it clear that he was picking up the tab, declaring that everyone had been working hard and that they deserved to celebrate. Eren, Marco and Jean had settled at a high top near the bar, and they watched as Hanji and Mike played a round of darts that looked rather dangerous in their inebriated state.

Eren’s attention settled on Erwin and Levi, who were nursing drinks and talking quietly at the bar. When Levi’s slender fingers wrapped around the base of his glass, Eren was reminded of the feeling of those same fingers tangling in the strands of hair at the back of his neck. The memory made him shiver and the alcohol pumping through his veins made him feel warm.

The music lulled for a moment, and he could hear their conversation drifting over to where he sat.

“I seem to recall rescuing you more than once,” Erwin said to Levi, spinning his glass on the bar and watching the amber liquid move.

“That’s not the same and you know it,” Levi responded in a low voice.

Erwin gave Levi an amused look, hiding a smile behind his glass. “It isn’t?” Eren envied the easy familiarity that the other man seemed to have with Levi.

“Don’t you laugh at me," Levi said, and Eren thought he heard a flicker of amusement in his voice.

"Wouldn’t dream of it," Erwin replied, leaning his head forward to whisper something else in Levi’s ear. And then Hanji was rocking on the balls of their feet behind Erwin, pulling his arm and dragging him off to the center of the room to dance.

A familiar anxiety ripped through Eren’s chest. Since his conversation with Jean a few weeks ago, he’d analyzed every interaction between the two men, every shared moment and spoken word. He’d obsessively track the movement of their limbs and the lines of their bodies, studying the looks in their eyes and listening for cracks in their voices, anything to indicate that they were more than just colleagues.

The evidence was confusing to say the least. Erwin was capable of bringing out a softness in Levi that he didn’t share with anyone else, and they seemed to understand each other on a deep, personal level that transcended typical work banter. And yet, Eren saw no other indication that Levi or Erwin shared an intimacy that went beyond friendship or mutual admiration. Still, it gave him little comfort—Levi rarely showed emotion beyond annoyance and sarcasm, so it wasn’t unbelievable that he would choose to keep his relationship with Erwin private.

There was noise to Eren’s left that drew his attention back to the others. Hanji, still latched on to Erwin’s arm, had spilled their cranberry vodka all over Jean’s white shirt in their attempt to get the other man to dance.

Jean was glaring down at Hanji and wringing out the bottom of his soaked shirt while Marco and Erwin laughed. Eren felt a smile tugging at his lips at the look of terror on Jean’s face when Hanji got on their knees and started pressing napkins into the crotch of his jeans, which weren’t nearly as damp as his shirt.

"That's the best Kirstein’s ever looked," said a low voice at Eren ́s side. He was surprised to see that it was Levi.

"That’s what I was thinking," Eren replied, too caught off guard to mask his surprise. He hadn’t been this close to Levi since their encounter in his room.

Levi turned his grey eyes to Eren and smirked.  The evidence of alcohol in his system cast a faint blush high across his cheekbones, giving his face an inviting look.  When he took another sip of his drink, Eren's eyes moved lower to admire the soft pink of lips curving around the glass, and then lower, to the pale column of his throat.  

Eren felt a slow heat rise to the surface of his skin, sweet and piercing.  It was going to be a long night.    

 

 

******* /// *******

 

 

A few hours later and multiple rounds of shots, Eren escaped to the back of bar, and when he pushed the door open the frigid night air broke over his skin like cold water, making him gasp.

His sound drew the attention of Levi, who was smoking a cigarette, and he tilted his head in acknowledgement. Eren felt exhilarated by the crisp air and a little out of control, and Levi’s face beneath the dim lighting of the parking lot was soft around the edges. He watched him take a last, long drag of his cigarette before throwing it to the ground.

The sound of his boot crunching into the loose gravel of the lot echoed loudly in the silence between them. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and jerked away from Eren, walking back to the bar.

"I heard you talking to Erwin,” Eren called out. He felt his gut twist a little at the words, but quickly pushed the feeling away.

Levi stopped and turned back to face Eren, frowning. "What?"

His response sent a spark of anger through Eren. "You seem really close.” Levi’s face tightened and his eyes narrowed as he walked back toward Eren.

“That’s what you want to talk about?” He leaned back to rest his head against the brick wall and studied Eren through hooded eyes.

Eren liked the way his throat looked, all vulnerable and white, but there was something dangerous in the tilt of his head and the slight cant of his hips.

“Yes,” Eren shrugged, as a single question emerged from the blackness of his mind. Running his tongue against the sharp parts of his teeth, he asked, “Are you with him?"

Eren kept his eyes trained on Levi’s face, and he liked that he saw something close to fury there. Levi wasn’t as cold and unfeeling as he wanted others to think. The thought warmed his skin, and he could feel the first stirrings of arousal coiling in his gut.

Eren moved closer and leaned down before Levi could speak, and he smelt like the whiskey he’d been drinking and the earthy scent of his tobacco that clung to his leather jacket.

“Eren,” Levi said. The sound of his name and the way Levi’s white teeth caught at his bottom lip sent shivers down Eren’s spine.

Whatever he was feeling must have shown on his face, because he could see the sudden shift in Levi’s features, could feel him tense and start to pull away. “You’re drunk.”

“That’s not what I asked,” snapped Eren.

One of his hands gripped Levi’s arm, tightly, and he felt his muscles jump and tense under his leather jacket. Time seemed to slow and narrow, and Eren was very aware of the heat of Levi’s body and almost nothing else.

When Eren tightened his grip, Levi let out a hiss of annoyance and turned his head to the side. At this angle, Eren could see one of Levi’s dark tattoos creeping up the side of his neck, and he wanted to trace it with his fingertips and see if Levi’s skin was as soft as he remembered.

He wondered if Levi’s pulse would be wild and frantic under his touch.

“You don’t even know what you’re asking,” Levi said after a few moments, easily shaking Eren’s hand off his arm. But the way Levi looked, angry and more than a little vulnerable, made Eren’s eyes burn.

“You’re drunk,” Levi repeated, clenching his jaw so tightly that the long tendons in his neck strained. He peered, unblinking, into Eren’s face, his gaze lingering on his mouth.

Eren ignored him and leaned forward. “Levi.”

Levi placed a hand on his chest, keeping him from advancing forward. “Eren,” he said, looking like himself again, his voice hard like metal. “This conversation is over.”

But Levi’s rejection had awakened something cruel inside him. He laughed darkly, and he was close enough now that his breath stirred the dark strands of Levi’s hair.

Slowly, Eren raised two fingers to ghost lightly underneath Levi’s jaw, pulling his face up to look him in the eyes. “What’s the matter, Levi?” he taunted, his lips twisting when he said the other man’s name.

Eren increased pressure slightly, and his thumb pressed against Levi’s bottom lip, which felt warm and damp under his skin. “Are you afraid daddy’s going to be mad?”

Levi turned rigid under Eren’s hands and inhaled sharply. Eren wanted to take the words back, but he saw them, heavy and awful, reflected in the dark infinity of Levi’s eyes.

The moment was broken and Levi roughly jerked his head away from Eren’s grip, giving him a vicious shove. Eren’s foot twisted in an icy patch of snow, which sent him crashing to the ground in a sickening blur. He landed painfully on one knee, his hands scrapping against the asphalt for purchase.

He quickly turned to face Levi, expecting him—wanting, despite everything—to get violent. He wanted to watch those icy eyes break apart and see the real Levi rattle against his bones. But Levi stood unmoving against the brick wall. His hands were clenched into tight fists at his sides, but Eren could already see his face sliding shut like steel doors.

Eren could hear laughing and shouting from inside the bar and his own heavy breathing, loud in his ears.

“Jesus Christ,” Levi said, his voice a whisper in the dark. “You don’t know anything.”

Suddenly, Eren’s gut twisted. He could only turn his face slightly to the side before he bent over and was violently sick. He gasped and convulsed for what felt like hours until he didn’t feel like there was anything left for his body to give. The cold had seeped into his jeans, leaving dark, damp marks on his knees and his hands were stinging painfully.

He felt a pair of warm hands on his back. “Eren,” whispered Marco. “Hey, it’s okay,” he said, when Eren started to struggle. He whipped his head back to where Levi had been standing, but they were completely alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t look at me!
> 
> Man the sexual tension is killing me – these two should just bang already, right?! I guess they have to kiss first…
> 
> Maybe next chapter? Eren has a little bit of groveling to do to clean up the mess he’s gotten himself into – where did he get the balls to say that Levi?? ;)
> 
> Also just to reiterate – this fic will NOT contain any Eruri – it’s all in Eren’s head. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for all the support and encouragement, you don’t understand how much its appreciated. <3
> 
> Come chat with me: http://cinnamonskull.tumblr.com


	6. This is What it Feels Like

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is inspired by Banks “This is What it Feels Like”  
> Listen to this song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naMvm2DUKiE

The last week had been tense, to say the least.

The morning after the incident, Eren had woken up with the worst hangover and a fuzzy sense of dread settling low in his stomach. At first, he’d written it off as just anther side effect of his careless drinking, but as he had started to slowly go through his morning routine, bits and pieces of the previous night began to solidify in his mind.

By the time that he’d actually arrived at Colossal for the day, he wanted to go back to bed and never get out again. He couldn’t believe he’d had the drunken gall to act the way he had, especially with Levi…

He thought that time would ease his sense of embarrassment, but the memory clung, sharp and painful, at the back of his eyelids and flashed every time he closed his eyes.

When he had arrived at Colossal that first morning, he’d managed to avoid his mentor by offering to help Marco take inventory instead of sitting in on Levi’s morning session.  He had half expected the older man to call him out and drag out the would-be excruciating ordeal, but Levi hadn’t said a word.  

Between trips to the various storage closets and stations, he’d lost count so many times that Marco had claimed him “useless” and banished him to the back room to refill the coffee pot. Levi’s door had been closed each time he’d passed.

It came as no surprise when Erwin had cornered him to tell him that he and Hanji would be working with him for the next few weeks.  Erwin had worn a sheepish look throughout the entire conversation, and Eren hadn’t had the audacity to question the decision.  No doubt Levi had cursed him up and down and then tossed him to Erwin like a steaming pile of shit.  Which he totally deserved.

He had spent the better part of the last week hiding in the back every free moment and memorizing Levi’s appointment book to avoid a potential run-in.  It had, mercifully, worked for the most part, and he managed to avoid seeing Levi face-to-face. In turn, Levi stomped through the shop with a black cloud larger than the state of California hanging over his head and spent his free time chain smoking in the underground. 

That morning, Eren hovered frantically near Hanji’s space, passing back and forth and debating whether or not it was worth reliving his humiliation for some advice.  After about the twentieth time, he cracked. 

“I think,” Eren started, rubbing the back of his neck.  “Hanji, I really fucked up.” 

“Yeah, no kidding kid,” they muttered over a mug of coffee.  It was just after noon, and the parlor was enjoying a momentary lull before the afternoon appointments started rolling in.  “Levi won’t shut the fuck up about you.”

Eren flinched.  So Levi had told Hanji everything.  They were smirking at him now, enjoying his discomfort. “You’ve got some _balls_.”

Eren blushed.  He hadn’t expected Hanji to go easy on him, but they didn’t have to look so smug about it.  “Look, I made a mistake,” Eren said, gritting his teeth at the memory.  “A really, really childish, stupid mistake. But I can’t take back what I said.”

Hanji’s smiled disappeared, and they suddenly looked very serious.  Somehow, this was worse.  

“Eren,” they said, looking like they were debating their next words.  

“What is it,” Eren prompted.

“Levi doesn’t have a lot of people that he cares about,” Hanji said slowly, turning their face up to stare Eren in the eyes. “He’s had a rough life, more so than any of us.”

Eren swallowed, listening closely to Hanji’s words. He knew a little about Levi but he hadn’t really had a chance to learn more before fucking everything up.

“Erwin is like _family_ to him, his older brother, his mentor and the person who gave him a second chance when everyone else was abandoning him,” Hanji continued. “You really crossed a line at the bar.”

“I know,” Eren mumbled, burying his face in his hands.  “I hate what I said, what I unfairly insinuated.  It was disrespectful to both Levi and Erwin.”

“Terribly disrespectful,” Hanji agreed, crossing their arms sternly.  “If you were so curious you should have asked Levi like a mature adult.  You’re usually such a sweetie, Bambi.  Why did you say it?”

Levi had turned his life upside down, had left his mark in the deepest part of him, and Eren felt his presence like a splinter. Levi saw all of him, every part of him, pulled him in like a high tide, and he felt like he was slowly drowning in an ocean of his desire for the older man.  

But he couldn’t excuse his immature jealousy. “I was stupid and drunk, Hanji. I don’t know why.”

“Well I do,” Hanji said, tiling their head to the side to study Eren.  “You _like_ him.”

Their words made him bristle, but there wasn’t any point in denying it, not when he had acted like such a complete ass. “Umm.”   

“You _do_ ,” Hanji confirmed, slapping their hand on the desk.  “You _so_ do, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“Okay, _yes_ , yesI do,” Eren hissed, turning his head to make sure Levi wasn’t lurking behind him.  Hanji smiled so brightly it hurt his yes. “Now help me fix it.”

“It’s not going to be easy, I’ll tell you that, Bambi,” Hanji said.  “You really fucked up anything you might have had with your whole daddy kink.”

“It’s not a daddy—wait a minute,” Eren paused to look at Hanji sharply.  “What do you know, Hanji?”

“Hmmm?”  Hanji suddenly looked riveted by their mug of coffee. 

Eren folded his arms.  “ _Hanji_.”

Their shoulders slumped.  “Okay, fine but I’m only telling you this because I want Levi to be happy.  Before you fucked everything up, I think you were sort of growing on him.”

“Growing on him?” Eren repeated.

“Do I have to spell it out for you? You’re a smart, kinky young man. You can figure it out.”

Eren grit his teeth.  “I’m not kinky, Hanji, I told you I was just—” Hanji waved their hands, interrupting him.

“Your past sexual escapades don’t interest me,” they sniffed.  “From now on, I only want to hear about you and Levi. 

Hanji words made images of Levi surge forward, unbidden, in his mind.  Levi’s white teeth pulling at this bottom lip.  The pale, luminous skin of his neck.  The muscles rippling beneath his muscle tee.  

“Well there won’t ever be a Levi and me if you don’t help me!” Eren said, shaking his head to clear his mind. “Tell me what to do. Please, Hanji.”

He gave Hanji his best puppy dog, newborn fawn eyes. “Please.”

After a moment of silence, Hanji snapped their fingers. “Ok, I have a plan.”  Eren wasn’t sure he liked the gleam shining in their eyes. 

 

 

 

******* /// *******

 

 

 

As Eren would later learn, Hanji’s plan involved wrangling Erwin into hosting another team bonding event. It sounded like a terrible idea to Eren, but Hanji had assured him it would just be a few beers at the shop.

Super casual, they said, nudging his leg under the table when Levi walked in, shaking snow off his leather jacket and placing a bag full of clanking six packs on the ground. 

“Here,” Levi said after a moment, shoving the packs onto the table.  It was the closest that Eren had been to him in over a week. 

“Levi, you’re such a perfect little gem,” Hanji cooed, pulling the plastic bags off. 

“Yeah, yeah,” he answered sharply, glancing down at his phone to check the time.  “Where’s Erwin?”

“Oh I think he’s picking up some food with Jean and Marco,” Hanji responded vaguely.  “So it’s just us for now.” 

Eren kept his eyes glued to the table. He heard a jingle of keys, and then Levi was reaching over him to grab a bottle of beer and using the opener on his keys to pop it open.

To Eren’s surprise, Levi placed it in front of him. “Think you can handle one beer? Or do you want a repeat of last weekend?” 

“I’m not drinking,” Eren said, feeling his face heat up.  He still wasn’t looking at Levi.

“Oh no?” Levi asked, pulling the beer back in his direction.  “Did your _daddy_ tell you couldn’t drink anymore?”

Eren hunched his shoulders and wished the floor would swallow him whole.   

“Well?” Levi demanded, when he remained silent. Hanji kicked him again, hard, and his knee banged into the table, making the glass bottles clank together.

“Can we talk?” Eren asked, lifting his gaze to stare at Levi.  The older man studied him a moment before nodding, signaling for Eren to follow him.

They made their way from the back to Levi’s room, and the sound of the door closing behind them made Eren jump. Now that he was alone with Levi, Eren’s nerves returned. 

“Spit it out, kid,” Levi snapped, taking a swing of his beer and then setting the bottle down so that he could cross his arms over his chest.  There was coldness in his eyes that Eren didn’t like.

“Levi,” Eren started.  “I know you’re pissed at me, and you have every right.” Levi gestured impatiently with his hand for Eren to continue.

“I’m sorry for what I said and how I acted,” Eren said.  “It was immature and unfair.”

“Yeah it fucking was,” Levi said. “You were a fucking drunk brat and way out of line.”

“I know,” Eren said quickly, not trying to anger Levi.  “I fucked up, and I’m sorry. Tell me how to fix it.”

“Fix it?” Levi asked, and Eren felt a cold, prickly dread fill the space behind his ribs. 

“Levi, you’re my mentor here at Colossal, and I want to keep working with you,” Eren said.  “Erwin and Hanji are amazing, but no one challenges me the way you do.”

“Is that what you want?”  Eren couldn’t read his expression anymore. 

“Yes, but I’ll do whatever you say,” Eren responded carefully.  “Because I don’t deserve any favors from you, especially after what I did.  I don’t deserve another chance.” 

Silence stretched between them for longer than Eren cared to admit. 

“Everyone deserves a second chance,” Levi said finally, his voice suddenly softer than it had been all evening. “I understand that more than anyone.” 

“So you’ll do it?  You’ll be my mentor again?” Eren asked, and he couldn’t keep the hopefulness from his voice.  For the first time all week, he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. 

“Yes,” Levi said, before pointing a finger at Eren. “But stop being a little shit and don’t ever fucking try pulling a stunt like that on me again.”

Eren couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips.  He had a sneaky suspicion that Hanji had probably talked to Levi and told him about their earlier conversation.  Whatever they’d said had seemed to work and for that Eren was thankful.  There was no way he could have gotten through to Levi alone.

“Stop smiling like that you look like a serial killer,” Levi scoffed, but Eren thought he sounded pleased. “Let’s get out of here, there is something I want to show you.”

On some level, it seemed like Levi had missed their strange friendship just as much as Eren had. 

Ten minutes later, Eren found himself walking with Levi toward the underground.  It was already very dark outside, but Eren kept his eyes trained on Levi’s white t-shirt, catching the full moon’s rays like a beacon. 

When they entered the deserted building, Eren was surprised that Levi didn’t turn the lights on.  “You’ll see,” he said, by way of explanation, and his voice sounded soft in the darkness. 

When they made their way to the empty pool, Eren noticed that there were multiple skylights embedded into the ceiling, which bathed the room in a soft grey light.  Levi hopped down easily into the pool, not waiting to see if Eren followed.

When he jumped off the last wrung of the latter to join Levi, he was surprised to see a huge canvass sheet strewn over half the tiled floor.  Tilting his head, Eren could see that Levi had painted one section of the pool wall completely white. It glowed in the darkness.

“You’re painting down here,” Eren whispered in wonder.

“That’s the plan,” Levi responded in a soft voice. “It’s just a base coat right now, but I’ve been sketching out a few different ideas.”

“Yeah?” Eren asked, his mind wandering to the artwork hanging in Levi’s room.  “What are you thinking?”

When he didn’t respond right away, Eren turned to see Levi staring at him.  “You’ll just have to see.”  The words were so coy and full of promise that they sent Eren’s heart fluttering in his chest.

Levi seemed to realize that they had been staring at each a little too long, and there was a flurry of movement as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and cleared his throat. Spying Levi’s lighter laying on the lounge chair, Eren swiped it before the other man could stop him.

“Hey,” Levi grit out in surprise.

“What?” Eren asked innocently, moving closer to the painted wall and pretending he needed a closer look.

“Give it back,” Levi demanded, moving lightning fast. Eren stepped back to avoid Levi’s quick hand until he felt the wall dig into his back.

“Nobody smokes anymore, Levi,” he taunted, feeling brave.

Levi’s fingers were cold around his wrist, and the hard wall pressing against the skin of his bare arms sent chills up his spine. 

“Give it back, you little shit.” Levi’s grip tightened around his wrist.

“Ouch,” Eren joked. He squirmed, trying to get away. Levi was skinny and short, all wiry muscle and bone, and Eren was surprised at his strength. No matter how much he twisted, Levi held firm.

Eren felt Levi’s gaze trained on his face, but the angle of his head in the dim light cast his eyes in shadows. Though he couldn’t make out the expression there, he could see that Levi’s lips were curved into a nasty grin.

His grip wasn’t threatening, but the way his fingertips pressed against Eren’s pulse sent sparks burning in the space between their bodies, like a flint striking steel.

“Ouch,” Eren said again, but not because it hurt.

Shivering, he pushed off the wall, and his movement caused his leg to brush against Levi’s hips.

Levi recoiled at the contact, dropping Eren’s wrist and putting space between them again.  When he moved away, Levi had stepped into a patch of moonlight floating through the skylights, which threw his features in sharp relief.

His pupils were blown, only a thin band of pale grey visible, like a gathering of stars circling the edge of a galaxy. He looked rough and vulnerable, and the air felt thick.       

Levi was breathing hard and struggling to regain control, but Eren had already caught the look on his face, and the image was burned into his retinas.

There was something white hot and almost savage running just underneath Levi’s skin, and Eren wanted to be the one to peel it off, piece by piece. 

“Don’t,” Eren whispered, _don’t stop_ , and then he was being pressed against the wall again, his head knocking roughly into the stone.  Levi’s lips were on his, and this time, he didn’t feel the cold.

Levi’s kiss felt both like what Eren had expected and like nothing he’d imagined.  He brushed his lips roughly over Eren’s mouth, and his hands wandered down to grasp his hips, pulling him closer. 

There was almost nothing gentle about Levi, who was made of hard angles sharpened by a cold and lethal beauty. His kiss felt like a challenge and a taunt, but Eren wasn’t backing down, not this time. 

When Levi’s tongue, hot and demanding, traced against his bottom lip, Eren opened for him and felt his sinful tongue slide wetly against his own.  Eren could only press himself more tightly against the heat of Levi’s body, one of his hands clinging to his t-shirt, the other threading through the impossibly soft strands of his hair.

 _“_ Levi _,”_ he whispered, when Levi’s lips moved down to drag against his neck, and he tugged sharply when his tongue darted out to taste.  In another moment, Levi’s teeth sunk into the warm skin there, and _yes, yes, he wanted Levi_ —

Eren gasped raggedly, the sound echoing against the empty walls of the pool, and something shifted between them. Suddenly, Levi pushed him back, running a hand through his hair in agitation and tiling his head away so that Eren couldn’t read the expression there.

“You don’t,” Eren whispered, licking his lips and tasting Levi.  His mind was hazy with the aching need surging through his body. “What’s wrong?”

Levi turned is face back toward Eren, and this time his expression was tight and closed.  “You don’t even know me. And we work together, Eren.”

His voice was rough and final. Before Eren could say anything, Levi was turning away and climbing out of the pool. _Again._

Eren kicked an empty beer bottle out of his path. When it shattered against the tile, loud and ominous, Levi didn’t glance back.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!! I bet you thought you saw the last of me "*does emma roberts' twirl* 
> 
> ummm hi *sweats* I hope you liked this chapter? It was terrible and agonizing to write. Eren did such a shitty thing to Levi and the pacing of the aftermath, apology and kiss kept feeling off so I had to keep rewriting. I still DON'T love it, but it felt really important to share with you guys. Also it's not beta and I'll probably catch a million mistakes in the morning - IM SORRY.
> 
> Let me know what you think - I hope you're all still on board for this romance, it's going to get real steamy up in here next chapter. ;)
> 
> For updates, teasers, drabbles and all things ereri, follow me on [tumblr](http://www.cinnamonskull.tumblr.com/)


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